I know that sourdough can sound overwhelming and complicated, and I am so happy to reveal to you it doesn’t have to be!
I am going to lay out sourdough and its processes on this blog simply, so you feel confident and excited to make sourdough for your family. This is an extremely simple sourdough guide with an extremely simple sourdough bread recipe.
Let’s start with terminology!
Sourdough starter– The mixture of flour and water that has been fermented. This is the basis of all sourdough recipes. This is what you “feed” and “discard”. When this is ready to be used in a recipe it should look bubbly and has raised by double or more.
Feeding– This is how you multiply your starter. You simply remove half of the starter (discard) and add water and flour to create a pancake batter consistency and let it rise (bulk fermentation).
Sourdough discard– This is part of your starter that half is removed before feeding it. Some throw it away, however I prefer to dehydrate it and grind it to save for later or give to someone. You can also use discard for many yummy recipes. You can take the discard and feed it and make a whole new starter.
Bulk Fermentation– This is after you feed it and you allow the whole thing to rise. Depending on how happy your sourdough starter is, is how long you will bulk ferment it. When I started mine it took about 6 hours to be doubled and bubbly. Now it only takes 2-3 hours to be ready to use.
Hooch– This is a blackish liquid on the top of your sourdough that your sourdough may get if you haven’t fed it in a while. This is a sign of a starving sourdough and it’s best to dump half of the hooch out and feed it as soon as you see it. Hooch is safe to mix in and continue using your sourdough, however it’s best to have a good rhythm of feeding your sourdough so you don’t find hooch.
Danger Signs In Sourdough– When it comes to having to throw your sourdough out you are going to look for two things. First you are looking for hairy growths aka mold. And secondly, you are looking for pink or orange streaks or tint. This is a sign of a harmful bacteria and the sourdough cannot be salvaged. Most of this can be avoided by feeding at least once a week and keeping a lid on it when you are not bulk fermenting.
Lids– When you are bulk fermenting your sourdough you need to cover it with something breathable so the CO2 from the fermentation process can escape and it won’t break the glass jar. I use a tea towel or kitchen towel and a rubber band to secure it. I like this method because it’s free and I can easily wrap the glass jar with the rest of the towel to keep it warm. However, there are little fabric lids you can get from here that are super cute. When you refrigerate it you will need a more secure lid that can spin on. I use the mason jar lid. You will place it on there and screw it down so it is secure but there is enough of a gap that CO2 can escape this will protect it from breaking and from mold growth.
Keeping your Sourdough– I’m not a huge fan of feeding my sourdough everyday so I use the refrigerator. When I want to use it, I pull it out the night before and feed it. Then I feed it again the morning I want to bake with it. I have a consistent pattern of pulling it out Sunday night and baking Monday. If you want to keep your starter in the fridge all you have to do is feed it like normal, but cover it with a more substantial lid leaving a gap for CO2 to rise and escape, and put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Some recipes have other terminology like stretch and folds but mine is very simple. Let’s move on to the processes for sourdough.
The first step to sourdough foods is sourdough starter. This can come in a dry form or a discard form. If you get dried sourdough you will need to feed it water and flour twice a day until it has a healthy bulk fermentation looking bubbly and doubling. It usually takes 2-3 days to get to where you can use it. Here is a link to some dried starter I recommend.
The next step is feeding your sourdough. As mentioned above you must remove half of your starter (discard) and then feed it 1 part water to 1 part flour. You can adjust this 1:1 ratio if needed but you should end up with a nice pancake batter consistency.
Helpful Tip: Use a scale to measure the exact grams of flour and water you are using. Scales that measure grams are definitely something to have on hand for lots of recipes using sourdough. Here is a link to one I recommend.
Next, you will let it rise to double or more (bulk fermentation). A great way to measure how much your sourdough rose is by putting a band around the jar measuring the top of the substance. As the sourdough rises you will see by how much based on where you marked it with the band.
Helpful Tip: Make sure wherever you are bulk fermenting the temperature is between 72 and 78 degrees.
Finally, when the sourdough has reached its peak you can use it for a recipe!
The beauty of sourdough is that it is hard to mess up. This bread recipe specifically is very forgiving and great for beginners. I have named the sourdough bread recipe “The Rancher’s Wife Sourdough Bread” because the recipe I have adjusted to make this one came from a rancher’s wife AND because it’s seriously so simple and doesn’t take much time out of your day.
The Ranchers Wife’s Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Sourdough Starter
- 1 ¼ Cups Lukewarm Distilled Water
- 1 Tbsp Raw Honey
- ¼ Cup Butter
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- ½ Tbsp Celtic Salt
- 4 Cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour or Freshly Milled Flour
Directions
- In a mixing bowl combine water and starter until incorporated.
- Next add in honey, butter, and oil.
- Combine ingredients and add salt.
- Using a dough hook, turn on the mixer and add flour one cup at a time until fully incorporated.
- Let the dough knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and stretches without tearing.
- Transfer the dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let rise for 3 hours or until doubled.
- After the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface and knead into the shape of your bread pan by folding each of the ends under making the top perfectly round and smooth.
- Place into a greased bread pan and cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours or until the top has peaked above the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 min or until golden brown.
- Immediately after taking the bread out of the oven, smother the top with butter so it keeps the crust from getting hard and chewy. Let cool or serve warm and enjoy!
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